KT Tunstall at the Enmore Theatre

Following my interview with KT Tunstall, I went to Sydney's Enmore to check out a live show:KT TUNSTALL
NEWTON FAULKNER
The Enmore Theatre, Enmore
19/03/08
For a support act, Englishman Newton Faulkner had a surprisingly firm grip on the audience’s attention. Fresh from a UK headline tour [where he was supported by Sydney’s own Angus and Julia Stone], the dreadlocked solo artist entertained a large crowd with his witty between-song banter and some accomplished acoustic guitar work. Though his own songs offered nothing especially groundbreaking or memorable, his cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop was exquisite, while a cheeky version of 2 Unlimited’s No Limit and an impression of Kings Of Leon were fun. His set ended with a one-man acoustic version of Bohemian Rhapsody, which was equally impressive and ridiculous.

“How totally fantastic to be here,” KT Tunstall beamed before rattling through tracks from her two studio albums in a performance that brimmed with energy, as her foot-stomping, hip-swaying guitar action was supported by a six-piece band which included two female backing vocalists. Opening track Little Favours was indicative of the upbeat indie-pop that would follow and the pace was also occasionally slowed nicely by the likes of White Bird and Paper Aeroplane, which were gentle, acoustic and pretty. While the band’s sound was great, the highlight of the evening came when the Scot stood alone onstage and crafted her breakthrough single, Black Horse And The Cherry Tree, using a loop pedal. Starting by drumming a beat on her guitar, she then layered guitar parts, percussion and vocals to staggering effect, before being joined again by her band for country-pop tune, Hopeless.

Just like Newton Faulkner before her, Tunstall chatted jovially between songs. She taught the audience to body-pop and, inspired by a visit to the Botanical Gardens, dispensed facts about bats [“when bats take off, they always go left,” apparently], before ending the set with Saving My Face and singalong favourite, Suddenly I See.

She may have already achieved massive success in the UK and America, yet she was still visibly taken aback by the warm reaction her first Sydney audience offered as she returned for an encore. “We’re gonna come back,” she promised before, fittingly on a night punctuated by bizarre cover versions, belting out a rocky version of Walk Like An Egyptian.

Perhaps there is nothing especially unusual about witnessing an evening of quality music, yet tonight was undoubtedly made all the more enjoyable by the sheer unpretentiousness of its performers. Refreshingly good fun.